Dear family and everyone else, I forgot to mention last week that we had our stake conference (my last one too on my mission). It was really good. One of the stake presidency really knows how to conduct a spiritual meeting. It was probably the best one I have ever attended. We also had our first ward party. It was the getting to know you games since a lot of people don't really know each other. They quickly put this together so everyone can get to know each other. The question's (categories) to sort through to get to different parts of the room went a little quickly, but it was still fun. We invited our investigator family, the Hernandez's, but they couldn't make it. What happened was they got there 45 minutes early and no one was there. We also misheard and thought that the party was in the ward building, but when we got there, we found of that is was the north building where the stake center is--probably because that gym is a lot bigger. Either way, the 2 buildings reside right next to each other. Last night, we had a follow up visit with the Hernandez family. We brought one of Bishop Wooley's sons and Brother Falke with us down to Hilmar to see them. We practiced the plan of salvation lesson with them, or at least an overview of what we will teach and for them to testify of what they know to be true. Isaac and his brothers had a great time getting to know Brother Wooley. He also told them what they were doing for Wednesday activities. They were going to watch wrestling since that's what a lot of the boy's like doing for a sport. That sparked the kid's interest along with camping in the snow, so we are getting a lot of fellowship really fast. This is getting good. Tuesday was a big surprise for all the missionaries around the world. A year ago there was a world wide missionary training from the missionary council. After a year, they wanted to follow up and focus on a few key factors that affect missionary work greatly. They also announced a change in the missionary schedule, so instead of having studies from 8:00-10:00, they are now pushed back a half an hour, and they moved planning to the morning instead of the evening. Also, they cut lunch to 1/2 an hour instead of an hour. I'm not sure how to think about that, but I guess we can work around that, so instead of cooking food in the day, we just fix it at night and it's ready to reheat the next day fixing the timing problem. I guess headquarters has been really concerned about missionaries effectively planning. Most people are not evening people to plan. We are usually tired, and tiredness affects how we feel the spirit in planning, so in the morning, we start out fresh, and we are ready to plan out our day so we are ready to study or at least know what to study for our investigators or potential one's. Also, for Preparation Day, they cut out 3/4 of studies to make only 1/2 of personal study so we can have more time to get things done on Monday's. That caused a great roar throughout all the missions, so today is a happy day. Wednesday, we were able to help out the sister missionaries with a service opportunity that was presented to them. It was moving stuff from a tiny storage unit to a bigger one so they can more easily access all the files that they needed. The filing cabinets were super heavy, so we pulled out the drawers one by one so we could more easily move them down the row of units. At the end, we were able to share a piece of information with one of the wonderful ladies that works for the refugee assistance company. We were able to talk about the name of Elder which means teacher and how the priesthood organization works. She thought it was cool but she quickly needed to get to her next destination, so we left her with a "Light The world" card. Maybe one day, that seed we planted will blossom and other missionaries will to come teach her and harvest by baptism. As for the pictures that I sent, the cake was shared after District meeting with the 2 districts that were at the church building. It was a sister's b-day on Saturday, and Elder Elegre's b-day on Tuesday, so we celebrated with lots of cake, pudding cake, lunch, and happiness with many missionaries. I even celebrated my 2 year mark. Not every missionary gets to pass their 2 year mark while still on their mission. That's about it for this week. Love you all.Sincerely,Elder White

Dear family and everyone else, It happened! It finally happened. A teaching appointment, and an awesome one too. We went to contact a few potential investigators down in Hilmar, and we set a follow up appointment for Sunday with the Sanchez family. they have 4 sons and one dad in the household. Starting with Isaac, Jacob, Enok, and the dad, Brother Sanchez. I couldn't pronounce his name so I will just leave it as Brother Sanchez. We brought Brother Eggleston with us, and we were able to see where the sisters left off. Mainly, they talked about the Savior, and how prayer has affected them. We asked them if the Sister Missionaries taught them about the restoration yet. They said they haven't, somy companion and I did a brief overview of all 5 lessons that we were going to share with them. 1. The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. The Plan of Happiness/Salvation 3. The Gospel of Jesus Christ 4. The Commandments 5. Laws and Ordinances such as service in the church, the temple, and family history work. We started with lesson 1. With much simpleness and discussion, they were able to understand perfectly after reviewing about twice through. The member shared his expertise about reading as a family from the scriptures. He too had many teenagers like this middle aged family and how it can be to sit down together between school, homework, sports, and dinner. We committed them to read and especially pray about the Book of Mormon. I invited the oldest son to pray to Heavenly Father. He probably has never prayed before and before he did, we showed how we should pray. It was so heartfelt and sincere. The spirit was so strong in that meeting. What he said in that prayer caught me and my companion off guard. He felt sorry that the Savior went through what he did, but more importantly, he said that he knows what we taught was true. We were very happy when we left. I hope that they do have the desire to be baptized soon. We invited them to that too, and the father said yes to baptism. We may have found "The One" family that is ready for baptism. I heard recently that we will be having another worldwide mission training from some of the apostles and other church leaders. This will be exciting and for sure my last. We might still have a Zone Conference after that too. We will see about that soon enough. It was also my 1/2 birthday yesterday--not that it matters too much. I'm now 20 1/2 years old. Another thing is my missionary certificate expires on Wednesday, the day I was supposed to go home. But that certificate doesn't matter too much around here. No one has ever asked to see it for the validity of my sharing the gospel. I know that I am still set apart for this mission by the hand of the priesthood. That is what really matters, not a small, simple piece of paper with black ink. That's about it for the excitement this week. Love you all.Sincerely,Elder White

Dear family and everyone else, It's the final countdown--the last month. Only 30 days to go before I fly home. I haven't thought of home much this week, which is good. I'm still staying busy trying to find people to teach without any luck. I feel joyous for some reason. It was probably the sunshine we received after the great deluge of rain we had on Friday. It was so thick Friday afternoon that you could almost swim in the rain. It rained 4 inches. It was a ton. The mountains got even more--15 ft. of snow within 10 days. The ski resorts are now up and running once again after a long 6 years of drought. Last year was so bad that there was no snow pack. Well, 6 years of water withheld just came down all at once. The people rejoice and thank the Lord continually. As it rained, my companion and I took shelter in Denair until the storm let up. We were so soaked that even our shoes had a pool in them, so we drained our shoes and wrung out some of our stuff as we waited. It was really cold. Then, we hurried over to dinner and had some hot soup. The member felt sorry for us and offered a ride back to our apartment. After 2 hours, we were able to dry all of our clothes, though our shoe soles were still really wet, so we leaned them against our box heater to dry overnight. In the morning, they were really warm and very crisp dry. Now we are back to business, and it's overcast again. We finally have been receiving a little bit of fog in the morning within the last 2 days, but nothing too thick like in the past in California. We were really close to getting an investigator to church yesterday, but her little boy was late returning from his dad's house, so they weren't able to come. It's been hard getting in contact with her. I still haven't met her. The relative who lives in Idaho assures us that she is still interested. She just forgets a lot of our appointments. We will keep trying this week. On Saturday, we felt that we needed to go see a few members in Hilmar and a couple other people. On the way there, I felt happy and excited for whatever reason. Maybe because I was experiencing something new. There seems to be a ton of ready people in the smaller towns than in the major cities that we do work in. I felt energized going down there for a few hours. I was also able to think more clearly without any distractions to ponder the words of life. I was thinking about grace a lot and how divine help can change us. One talk I heard from somewhere said, "Grace has saved you, but has grace changed you?" I felt a new light of intelligence come upon me on that sunny day. I feel that God's grace, love, and teachings have helped me, and benefited me greatly. We then had a good discussion about the subject with an active couple for dinner later that night. They had so many wonderful stories about grace, including fixing a back porch that often flooded whenever it rained. That's about it for this week. Love you all.Sincerely,Elder White

Dear family and everyone else, This week we met our new district and District Leader, Elder Bonola. Of the whole district there is, Hermana Ribison, Hermana Carrillo, Hermana Martinez, Hermana Spilsbury, Elder Penrose, Elder Bonola, Elder Barlow, Elder Ashcraft, and me. Most I have seen before, others, I am just able to meet for this short time here in the Turlock Stake/ Zone. We had a good district meeting and talked about John 14. President Palmer even randomly showed up in the middle. He was happy to take the picture for us so we didn't have to try setting up our cameras to do a timed out selfie I guess. To add on top of things, SISTER ANDERSON is back, with a new missionary she is training again named Sister Beckett. She' been called to serve in the Brazil mission speaking Portuguese. There seems to be a lot of those in Hilmar is what I heard, so she has been placed in the right area so she can practice as she learns the language and waits for her visa, so she can get to where she has been called to serve. President Palmer loves and welcomes all transitory missionaries that pass through this mission. We have a good mix of a lot of languages. At least Sister Anderson gets to see me one last time before I fly home. I decided that my last planner for my last transfer will be decorated with pictures on the front and back. On the front, is a picture from one of the recent Ensigns about a woman that appears to be learning how to walk again. Her hand is stretched out to a metal bar with another hand guiding her. The quote says, "Humility made me strong, as I was converted to humbly relying on the Lord's strength to be able to 'do all things.'" How important it is to rely on the Lord in all things, and council with him in all your doings. The rod is like the word of God. If we hold true to it, with our callings, and endure to the end, how great will be our joy when we finish. The other picture is of the 1 Samaritan leper out of the 10 that came back to the Lord and bowed down to him in incomprehensible gratitude for such a miracle and a full restoration of life in which otherwise was pronounced good as dead because the disease was incurable and was living death. Your body decays as you live until the final moment when pain is unbearable. These two picture are starting to mean so much to me. One, endure to the end, and two, thank the Lord with all energy of heart, and we will be made whole (be forgiven of our sins). I am in deep gratitude that I have been able to serve a mission and help others repent just as much as I strive to repent. That's about it for this week. I hope you all love my spiritual messages.Sincerely,Elder White

Dear family and everyone else, In case I have forgotten to tell you who all gave me Christmas presents, the Egleston's who are our ward mission leaders, gave us a bunch of presents and another stocking full of toiletries, candy, and funny things such as silly putty, and nerd glasses. I still have yet to make a thank you letter to them, but I will do that before the end of this new transfer. So for this week, we have not taught one lesson to any investigator or less active. We did go see a family we thought might have been less active in Denair, and then when they invited us in, we learned that they were active. I didn't recognize the son, so we were able to meet them more personally and also received some health tips like good exercises that the son does and good things that come from eating spinach, bananas, and other things. He told us that he has been developing high blood pressure, and the blood pressure meds do worse things, so the natural thing to do is eat things high in potassium, and also eat meat sparingly. The meats that we eat cause mind diseases and dysfunctions that are prevalent in our old lives such as Alzheimer's, memory loss, and other things. It counteracts the sodium within your blood by breaking it down and flushing it out of the system. I had no idea that potassium had so many health benefits besides stopping something from twitching I guess. Then we rushed all the way from Denair to the bottom of Turlock in about half an hour to get to our New Year's dinner with the Fortado's of the former 2nd ward now 1st ward. They had smoked honey ham, potatoes, and carrots. It was pretty good. For transfer calls, I will be staying with Elder Ahscraft for this last transfer here in Turlock 1st ward. We haven't heard anything about other missionaries coming back in to take back the bigger part of the area, so it's not what we were hoping for, but I guess we will just have to deal with it and work in all areas so everyone benefits with our spirit in each of the towns. Hopefully, while I serve here, my companion and I will be able to baptize one of our good investigators, Bryan. He swings in and out of progressing often, but overall, I think he will be the next to get baptized into this ward. The ward here has been saying how wonderful it is that we can gather together as a ward family to start the year out right with the sacrament so that we can renew our covenant-- not only the covenants we make at baptism as we take upon us the name of Christ, but also in the temple. We are again promised to have the spirit always to warn us, guide us, or just to comfort us so that we can never go in life comfortless, or helpless. What an amazing blessing, and an amazing gift we are given in this life. Continue to 'Press Forward Saints'. Love you all.Sincerely,Elder White Happy selfie. Happy New Year! Last Transfer!